On Friday, April 19, 2013, Silver Wrapper and React present an event featuring some of the finest artists to FUNK ROCK SOUL!
funky METERS will co-headline the event with The Greyboy Allstars, who are celebrating the release their first record in six years, along with special guest and rising Chicago post-punk soul quintent JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound! Rounding out the music is Chicago’s own Jesse de la Pena and Maker.
Formed during an informal jam during the 1989 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Art Neville, George Porter Jr., and Russell Batiste Jr., founded what would be the core of the funky METERS. The history of founding members Art Neville and George Porter Jr. dates back to 1967, when keyboardist, Art recruited bass player, George, drummer Joseph (Zigaboo) Modeliste and guitarist Leo Nocentelli to form The Meters. In their 31-year history, The Meters have grooved their way around the globe. They have toured with such talents as The Rolling Stones, and have been a studio band for such diverse artists as Dr. John, Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer, and Patti Labelle. The original Meters disbanded in the late 70’s. Today founding members Art Neville and George Porter Jr., are joined by New Orleans native Brian Stoltz on guitar and Russell Batiste Jr. on drums and are known officially as the funky METERS. funky METERS tap into the roots of The Meters musical heritage while taking the sound well into the future. Their trademark sound blends funk, blues, and dance grooves with a New Orleans vibe.
On April 16th, The Greyboy Allstars will release their fourth studio album, Inland Emperor, their first in six years. Recorded at Elgonix Sound labs and mixed by Grammy Award winning producer/engineer Mickey Petralia (Beck, Peached, Eels, Flight of the Conchords) the album is a mixture of influences from the five very distinct members of the group. It has been 20 years since The Greyboy Allstars—frequenters of the scene surrounding the `70s soul-and-funkspinning DJ Greyboy—formed in San Diego, with their producer and label owner as a namesake. The band’s 1995 debut, West Coast Boogaloo, has influenced countless other artists and groups, and the Allstars’ early work together launched, for each member, a unique kind of prolific and highly successful solo career. Inland Emperor features original band members Karl Denson (horns and vocals), Robert Walter (keyboards), Elgin Park (aka Michael Andrews, guitars and vocals) and Chris Stillwell (bass), along with Aaron Redfield (drums), who has played with the group in recent years, and a guest appearance by John Bigham, of Soul Of John Black, on “Bitch Inside Me.” All contributed to the songwriting. They recorded and produced the album at Elgin Park’s studio in Glendale, CA, and Grammy Award winning producer/engineer Mickey Petralia (Beck, Peaches, Eels, Flight of the Conchords) mixed the tracks—12 efficient (on average, four-minute) tunes, rather than long-form platforms for soloing.
What does post-punk soul look like? Six and a half feet of raw emotion and sweat, with one leather boot planted in gutsy R&B, the other in taut minimalist grind. Snarling at the crowd beneath an afro pompadour, while indulging in a sly wink, singing to you directly, and here to make you dance. What does post-punk soul look like? It looks like JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. The Uptown Sound has attracted a true-blue grassroots following, with MOJO Magazine identifying them as “one of the hottest US soul acts”. Since unleashing their Bloodshot Records debut “Want More” (“A lively set of gritty old-school soul and funk injected with raw garage-rock aggression” – KEXP), they’ve barnstormed North America and Europe relentlessly, while burning up NPR and AAA radio with their stomping cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” (which they performed with the song’s composer, Jeff Tweedy, at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival).
Rounding out the music is Chicago’s own Jesse de la Pena and DJ/Producer Maker.
The event will feature a special guest panel discussing “Music in Movies” that will hosted by CIMMfest. CIMMfest celebrates the many connections between film and music. The panel starts at 6:20 PM in the Congress Theater main room for CIMMfest badge holders. Along with a moderator and a couple other noted composers for film, the workshop/discussion will be about film composition and the means by which music makes film come to life from a composers perspective, playing a key role in bringing a vision to life successfully for the screen.
Silver Wrapper and Live Nation announce that Umphrey’s McGee, prog-rock purveyors of “impeccable playing and pristine arrangements” (Village Voice), is joining forces with STS9 for a 14-date co-headlining tour this summer, stopping in Chicago, IL on Saturday, August 17, 2013 at Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island.
Tickets will be available for Fan Club pre-sale starting on May 1 and general on-sale May 4, 2013 at 12:00 PM through Ticketmaster.
